About Next Gen Partnerships

Next Generation Sector Partnerships

What Are Next Gen Sector Partnerships?

Next Generation Sector Partnerships are partnerships of businesses, from the same industry and in a shared labor market region, who work with education, workforce development, economic development and community organizationsto address the workforce and other competitiveness needs of the targeted industry.

Now is the time! Community partners across the nation are facing increased pressure to engage industry more deeply:

Secondary and post-secondary educational institutions are being called to engage with industry and align their curriculum and programming in new innovative ways.

Workforce Investment Boardsare being called upon to increase partnerships with industry through sector partnerships in the new federal legislation (WIOA).

Economic development organizations are experiencing a renewed interest in talent and skills as keys to economic vitality.

The partnership acts as a "shared table" for business leaders to collaborate with a range of public partners and for public partners to work together to align programs to industry needs.

Thanks to the California Workforce Association for spotlighting the distinct difference between traditional sector strategies and Next Gen Sector Partnerships in their November podcast. Listen to learn more.

Photo Credit: Pam Lindley, City of Phoenix

Key Features of Next Gen Sector Partnerships

Industry-led. Agendasare based on industry-determined priorities, not public programs.

Community-supported. Public partners from workforce development, economic development, education and others work together to convene and support Next Gen Sector Partnerships.

Sustainable over time. Since Next Gen Sector Partnerships are organized around the topic that interests business leaders most--what it takes to ensure that their company thrives--they are sustainable over time.

Next Gen Partnerships Show Impact

Over fifty next gen partnerships exist across the country, with concentrations of them in states like Colorado, California, Oregon, and Arizona; more emerging in states like Montana, Texas, Hawaii and Louisiana; and increasing interest from at least a half dozen other states.

The Gallatin Valley Manufacturing Partnership in Bozeman, Montana is designing a 9-day manufacturing curriculum module to be offered in local high schools throughout the region. The curriculum was developed by a team of manufacturers working with education partners and will be taught by guest instructors from regional manufacturing companies. It includes guest speakers, field trips to local manufacturing companies, and classes offered by Gallatin Community College.

The Phoenix Advanced Business Services Sector Partnership has created an industry-led speakers bureau to promote career opportunities in the industry among students, parents, and career advisors.To date, the Partnership has arranged for speakers to attend events for students, jobseekers, and career advisors with parter organizations throughout Phoenix.

The East Bay Advanced Manufacturing Partnership in California created a customized education pathway for their top critical occupations, which quickly became the common framework for multiple high schools, junior colleges and the Workforce Board to align curriculum.

A new Northeast Louisiana Healthcare Partnership has engaged nearly forty healthcare organizations (large hospitals and small rural clinics) in building a real career pathway system that improves advancement from CNA to LPN, including new certificate add-ons along the way. This partnership is also developing process and legal agreements for an acute care network that allows large hospitals to use under-utilized bed space and skilled nursing staff in rural hospitals.

The Kingman and Mohave Manufacturers Association in Arizona created a freight sharing program that allowed for regional manufacturers to coordinate shipments, saving on transportation costs. Member manufacturers also helped create a shared training space in a member company's facility, co-funded a mobile training unit for upskilling existing workers in rural manufacturing facilities, and significantly expanded existing manufacturing-related apprenticeships.

The Lane County Technology Collaborative, a sector partnership convened by the local workforce board in Eugene, Oregon, brings together over thirty technology companies to collectively tackle shared issue areas. In its first six months, the Collaborative successfully secured a direct flight from Eugene to Silicon Valley. Members cite this as a powerful early win that allowed them to get to the harder issues at stake: improving technology education in the K-12 system, and creating a new computer science curriculum in local colleges.

At-Scale Results

Where states have adopted strategies that help create strong, local sector partnerships, results are magnified. In Colorado:

businesses

82% of partnerships have businesses that have developed new or enhanced ideas for new products and/or markets

91% of partnerships have businesses that have found support in finding employees with the skills and experiences their business needs

82% of partnerships have businesses that have developed new recruitment practices

I participate because it grows my business. Since getting involved in organized efforts like this, I’ve grown my business 500-600 percent. I tell all my manufacturing peers and competitors to join: two hours working on your business will only help your business.

We believe we can address anything the manufacturing community wants to address—we have a voice, we have some concrete wins, and we have the buy-in of the greater community. We have created this buzz because we get things done! Everybody – both private and public sector— is doing their piece.

This video was produced by the Lane Workforce Partnership to showcase the region's work with sector strategies.

This process is a game-changer. If you follow the script, it allows public and private partners alike to give up their perceived power and move into the all-in moment. Now we can’t stop the momentum.

The sector partnership approach is the most productive way to align the assets in your community toward a common goal and common business solutions. You will not get this working one-on-one with individual companies. The people at the table are the industry leaders and they best know their opportunities for growth, whether it is a workforce issue or a regulatory issue or an operational issue. They are the best ones to sit and discuss it. 

— Jen Miles, Mohave County Workforce Development Manager

Industry wants to impact education, they want to impact workforce. This gives them that voice to do it

— Lynn Vosler, Front Range Community College

Workforce Boards are not THE experts. Our role is one of convener and bridge. We bring together the experts and empower them to do what they do best.

The Next Gen toolkit is designed to help teams successfully build and sustain industry-led, next generation sector partnerships. Use and sharing of the tools and materials are encouraged, with the expectation that full attribution be given via intact Next Gen name and logo on all materials used and shared. The Next Gen Sector Partnership name and title and/or logo is used only for official Next Gen materials and shall not be used on materials created by other entities. If using Next Gen tools, we ask that you join and contribute to the Next Gen Community of Practice to connect and share with other practitioners across the country involved in Next Gen sector partnership-building.

The Next Gen Sector Partnership staff, a team of four independent consultants—Lindsey Woolsey, John Melville, Francie Genz and Emily Lesh— collaborate to make the Next Gen sector partnership community of practice possible. 